Legal claims defining the scope of protection. Each claim is shown in both the original legal language and a plain English translation.
1. A method of operation in an Ethernet receiver circuit comprising: for each of a plurality of channels, sampling an input live Ethernet data signal to generate a sampled signal having a sampled correlated noise component caused by an interfering signal, and a sampled data component, the sampled correlated noise component being correlated to a previously sampled correlated noise component; equalizing the sampled signal to generate an equalized signal; summing, at a summer, the equalized signal with compensation signals from respective near-end crosstalk (NEXT) and far-end crosstalk (FEXT) filters to generate a summed signal; feeding the summed signal as an input to a slicer circuit; slicing the summed signal with the slicer circuit; determining a slicer error based on a difference between the summed signal and a signal produced at the output of the slicer circuit; feeding the slicer error to a correlated noise filter; filtering the slice error to generated a correlated noise compensation signal for feeding to the summer to cancel at least a portion of the interfering signal; wherein the summing includes summing the equalized signal with respective correlated noise compensation signals fed from the other of the plurality of channels.
An Ethernet receiver cancels correlated noise in high-speed data. For each channel, the receiver samples the incoming signal, which contains data and correlated noise (noise related to previous noise). It then equalizes the signal and combines it with noise compensation signals from near-end crosstalk (NEXT) and far-end crosstalk (FEXT) filters. This combined signal is processed by a slicer circuit, which determines a slicer error. The slicer error is then fed into a correlated noise filter to generate a noise compensation signal. This compensation signal is fed back to cancel the interfering noise. Crucially, each channel also sums in noise compensation signals from the *other* channels, improving overall noise cancellation.
2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the filtering comprises adaptively filtering.
The Ethernet receiver, which cancels correlated noise in high-speed data by sampling the incoming signal, equalizing it, compensating for NEXT/FEXT interference, determining a slicer error, and using a correlated noise filter to generate a noise compensation signal, employs an *adaptive* filter for the correlated noise filtering. This adaptive filter adjusts its parameters over time to optimize noise cancellation based on the changing characteristics of the noise. This means the noise filter actively learns and improves its performance.
3. The method according to claim 1 wherein the filtering comprises: predicting a subsequent sampled noise component based on the slicer error; and subtracting the predicted subsequent sampled noise component from a subsequently sampled signal.
The Ethernet receiver, which cancels correlated noise in high-speed data by sampling the incoming signal, equalizing it, compensating for NEXT/FEXT interference, determining a slicer error, and using a correlated noise filter to generate a noise compensation signal, uses a filter that works by *predicting* the next noise component based on the slicer error and then subtracting this predicted noise from the subsequent incoming signal. This proactively removes noise before it interferes with the data.
4. The method according to claim 3 wherein the subsequent sampled noise component includes evaluating a plurality of previous samples.
In the Ethernet receiver that predicts and subtracts noise, the prediction of the next noise component considers *multiple previous samples* of the slicer error, not just the immediately preceding one. By analyzing a history of errors, the prediction becomes more accurate.
5. The method according to claim 4 wherein the plurality of previous samples are each weighted differently in the evaluating.
In the Ethernet receiver that predicts and subtracts noise using multiple previous samples, each of these previous samples is *weighted differently*. This allows the system to emphasize the most relevant past errors and de-emphasize less important ones, further refining the noise prediction. The weighting allows fine-tuning the predictive noise cancellation based on specific noise characteristics.
6. An Ethernet receiver circuit comprising: a plurality of channels, each channel including an input sampler to sample an input live Ethernet data signal having a sampled correlated noise component caused by an interfering signal, the sampled correlated noise component being correlated to a previously sampled correlated noise component; an equalizer to equalize the sampled noise component; a summer to sum the equalized sampled noise component with compensation signals from respective NEXT and FEXT filters and generate a summed signal; a slicer circuit to receive the summed signal to generate a slicer error signal, the slicer error signal based on a difference between the summed signal and a signal produced at the output of the slicer circuit; a feedback path including a correlated noise canceller coupled to the slicer circuit to receive the slicer error signal and predict a subsequently sampled noise component for summation with a subsequently received input signal to generate a correlated noise compensation signal to cancel at least a portion of the interfering signal: wherein the summer further receives respective correlated noise compensation signals fed from the other of the plurality of channels.
An Ethernet receiver circuit has multiple channels. Each channel samples the incoming Ethernet signal, which includes data and correlated noise (noise linked to previous noise). An equalizer corrects the sampled signal. A summer combines the equalized signal with NEXT/FEXT compensation. A slicer circuit then generates a slicer error. A feedback path uses a correlated noise canceller to predict future noise based on the slicer error. This prediction creates a compensation signal that cancels out the interfering noise. Each channel also receives correlated noise compensation signals from the *other* channels.
7. The Ethernet receiver circuit according to claim 6 wherein the noise component is based on a sinusoidal noise source.
The Ethernet receiver circuit, which cancels correlated noise through sampling, equalization, crosstalk compensation, slicer error feedback, and correlated noise prediction, is specifically designed to handle noise originating from a *sinusoidal noise source*. This implies the system is optimized for noise that has a periodic, wave-like nature.
8. The Ethernet receiver circuit according to claim 7 wherein the sinusoidal noise source comprises radio frequency interference (RFI).
In the Ethernet receiver circuit handling sinusoidal noise, the sinusoidal noise source is *radio frequency interference (RFI)*. This specifies that the type of wave-like noise being cancelled is from radio frequency signals interfering with the Ethernet signal.
9. The Ethernet receiver circuit according to claim 6 wherein the correlated noise canceller comprises an adaptive filter.
In the Ethernet receiver circuit that cancels correlated noise, the correlated noise canceller is an *adaptive filter*. This means the filter automatically adjusts its characteristics over time to best cancel the noise, without manual tuning.
10. The Ethernet receiver circuit according to claim 9 wherein the predicted noise component is based on one or more previous noise samples.
The Ethernet receiver circuit uses an adaptive filter to predict noise. The *predicted noise is based on one or more previous noise samples*. By analyzing past noise, the system can anticipate and cancel future noise.
11. The Ethernet receiver circuit according to claim 10 wherein each noise sample is associated with a tap weighting.
In the adaptive filter predicting noise from past samples, *each noise sample has an associated tap weighting*. This allows some past samples to have a greater influence on the noise prediction than others.
12. The Ethernet receiver circuit according to claim 9 wherein the adaptive filter includes a selectable number of taps.
The adaptive filter in the Ethernet receiver circuit, which predicts and cancels noise, has a *selectable number of taps*. This allows the designer to adjust the complexity and performance of the filter; more taps potentially provide better noise cancellation but also increase computational cost.
13. The Ethernet receiver circuit according to claim 12 wherein the adaptive filter converges on a solution based upon a leakage term-based algorithm.
The adaptive filter, with its selectable number of taps, *converges on a solution based upon a leakage term-based algorithm*. This means the algorithm used to adapt the filter's parameters includes a "leakage" factor that helps prevent the filter from becoming unstable or overfitting to the noise.
14. The Ethernet receiver circuit according to claim 12 wherein the adaptive filter converges on a solution based upon a regularization-based algorithm.
The adaptive filter, with its selectable number of taps, *converges on a solution based upon a regularization-based algorithm*. This means the algorithm used to adapt the filter's parameters includes a "regularization" term that penalizes overly complex filter solutions, preventing overfitting and improving generalization to new noise conditions.
15. The Ethernet receiver circuit according to claim 6 embodied as a 10GBASE-T transceiver circuit.
The Ethernet receiver circuit, which cancels correlated noise using sampling, equalization, crosstalk compensation, slicer error feedback, and correlated noise prediction, is *implemented as a 10GBASE-T transceiver circuit*. This specifies that the invention is designed for and compatible with the 10 Gigabit Ethernet standard over twisted pair cabling.
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October 14, 2014
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